04/09/21
Ann Beal
In a categorical win for telehealth last year, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) amended the Stark Law and the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) to allow disparate groups, including healthcare providers, telehealth and mHealth vendors, to work together on related health care services without risking unlawful consequences.
Enacted more than 40 years ago, the Stark Law was written to preclude physicians from referring patients to a provider with whom the physician or his family has a fiscal relationship, while the
Anti-Kickback Statute was meant to prohibit compensation, defined as anything of value, for referrals payable by a federal healthcare program. These laws were originally designed to safeguard patients against poor service in a fee-for-service arrangement whereby services are paid separately, incentivizing the quantity of care model. However, these laws have resulted in prohibiting physicians, hospitals and healthcare prov